Everyone who is reading this has worn a pair of jeans at some point in their lives. In fact, I'm so confident that this is true that I dare anyone reading who hasn't to set this magazine on fire. I can't imagine that there'll be any charred copies of this issue floating around town, though, because I can't imagine that any reader of this mag has never worn denim. Is there a more tried and true garment in America than a pair of jeans? Neil Diamond, Flo Rida, and Fergie have all sung praises to the garment whose wearers range from roadside construction workers to the chicest of models. Jeans have longevity unlike any other wardrobe choice. Though men’s and women’s differ by cut, the fact remains that everyone wears them.
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Despite the democratic nature of denim, not all jeans are created equal. From Lee’s to Levi’s to True Religion, most of the denim available, whether cheap or the equivalent of one month’s rent, is produced offshore. Little care goes into the stitching, and your garment is identical to the thousands, perhaps millions of pairs created in the gaping black hole of a modern day factory. However, Anthony Lupesco, the owner and founder of Shockoe Denim, makes denim that is rare in that it isn’t mass produced.
Located in the burgeoning Shockoe design district, the company officially opened shop in October 2012. Anthony’s concept is to bring denim production back to the way things used to be done. This means decreasing the scale of production, purchasing fabrics from a destination that’s less than one day of travel away, and having a human being sew the stitches and cut the fabric. It’s a humanizing concept, something lost long ago when American garment factories closed, machines took over, and the garment industry essentially ceased to exist on US soil.
Lifelong experience and knowledge back the crafting of Shockoe Denim’s jeans. Anthony is steeped in the inner workings of the apparel business. He grew up with both parents working in the industry, and his father ran a factory in Italy while he attended middle school. Anthony brings rare insight into the way the clothes we wear every day were made before mass production in faraway factories became the norm. I had the pleasure of touring Shockoe Denim’s store and its accompanying production facilities, which are visible from the retail area. The minimal storefront and space space echo the utilitarian nature of denim. Shockoe Denim’s offerings hang on the walls. At once durable and timeless, they look like a good pair of jeans should. I spoke to Anthony about the story behind Shockoe Denim, making clothes in America, and why it’s so freaking cool that it’s happening in Richmond.
Tell me about how this idea was born. Did you recognize a niche that needed to be filled in Richmond specifically, or in general? Was the concept similar to anything you’d seen before?
I grew up in apparel, and most of what my family did focused on being made in Italy. I wanted to actually make something, and I figured if I wanted to do that in America, there is nothing more American than a pair of jeans. That’s really where it came from. Also the fact that once I started doing research, I found one of the best denim mills in the world 200 miles from here in North Carolina [Cone Mills, in Greensboro, NC], so it just made a lot of sense. The other thing is I’ve worn jeans almost every day of my life.
Yep, I’ll find a couple pairs of jeans each year. I end up loving and wearing them every day. It makes sense to spend more money on something you literally live in, potentially for years.
I feel like jeans are kind of like the apparel version of soul food. You feel like shit and you go home to throw on a pair of jeans.
I couldn’t agree more. Speaking of soul food and the South, how did you end up in RVA?
My parents had a clothing store in Georgetown. I came to visit them on break. We drove down here to check it out. I really liked the vibe of the city and was also really bored in school, so I decided I would start a business. I was in school for fashion design but never finished.
What kind of store did you own before this?
A high end men’s and women’s clothing store called “If.” It didn’t work out once we moved it to Stony Point. This concept especially--people don’t go to the mall to get an experience. You go to get discounts. Nothing against malls, I go to them too.
How many people work here? Did you train them all?
Yep. My family has also been really nice--[they’ve] come out of retirement to help me. We had a really hard time, at first, finding labor. Obviously there were a lot of apparel factories here, decades ago, so we had people coming in who were in their 60s and 70s, but they couldn’t keep up. We eventually started hiring students from VCU in the fashion department, and they’ve been awesome.
That’s a weird thing, how so little of what we wear is made in the US. I think it’s awesome that designers are pushing to get production back on our soil. I remember thinking, from a young age, where did all of the people who used to work in factories go when factories here closed?
I just met with a potential client down in Winston Salem and their store is all made in the USA. His mother used to be the foreman at a factory that made something workwear related. That factory shut down. She’s now a greeter at Walmart. These people don’t have really any other skills. Being a foreman meant you were a manager, but now there aren’t any jobs that translate to that exact position.
Tell me a little bit about the seamless jeans.
They’re called selvedge, made using selvedge fabric. The word comes from “self-edge.” The way they work is that they’re done on old style shuttle looms. The tool used to weave the fabric is different. Basically the way it works is it creates a finished edge on the end of the fabric. It’s a lot narrower, and most of the equipment to weave these is still from the 40s and 50s. Modern machines are much wider, 66 inches vs 32. It’s the same level of quality, but what you get out of selvedge, since the machines are much older, is much more character. You see these naps in the fabric--they aren’t perfect. There are slight runs, character to the fabric, whereas when you look at something done on a projectile loom, it’s modern machinery--it looks perfect. We cut the selvedge edge on the outseam, so you don’t need to surge it because it’s not going to unravel. On standard denim you have to do finishing process. It’s more expensive because I get way less denim out of a roll of the selvedge fabric.
[As we talked, Anthony showed me the denim used to make selvedge jeans. It was much shorter than what you'd get with something made on a newer loom, and creates a different look from most jeans you normally see in stores. One side of your pants will have a smoother appearance.]
Tell me more about the washes of the jeans.
All of the denim here is raw. We do no washing, no treating. We do finishes--coating. As you wear a pair, [the coating] starts to wear off. One pair almost oxidizes like copper, color-wise. It’s cool to see your clothes age with you.
What’s the idea behind raw denim?
You can buy stuff [designed] to look worn in, but these occur naturally. It’s more authentic. Indigo is one of the shittiest ways to dye a fabric--it doesn’t actually penetrate the yarn. Most jeans are dyed after production, ours are dyed before.
How many styles do you have?
Four different fits for men, and a variety of styles within those fits. Women’s, we have about five fits, and a variety of styles, again.